Handbook on Citizen Engagement: Beyond Consultation - SASANet

More documents

Recommendations

Info

For further reading:Government of Saskatchewan. 2008. Interim Government of Saskatchewan Guide forConsultation with First Nations and Métis People.www.fnmr.gov.sk.ca/documents/policy/consultguide.pdf.Centre for Research and Information Canada. 2005. Finding Their Voice: Civic EngagementAmong Aboriginal and New Canadians. www.nald.ca/fulltext/cric/eng/cover.htm.Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. List of resources: toolkits, guides and workbookswww.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/awpi/gde/rsucs_3_e.html.Flo, Frank. 1999. Flying Together: A Partnership Guidebook. CANDO, Edmonton: ondeveloping partnerships between Federal Government and Aboriginal communities.Alfred, Taiaiake, Brock Pitawanakwat and Jackie Price. 2007. The Meaning of PoliticalParticipation for Indigenous Youth. Canadian Policy Research Networks.www.cprn.org/doc.cfm?doc=1749&l=en.20 CANADIAN POLICY RESEARCH NETWORKS
Chapter VII. Getting StartedThis chapter sets out some guidelines and references for planning and executing a citizenengagement initiative. It is not prescriptive but rather, it frames issues as questions to help in theplanning process. It is written so as to encourage the adaptation of the materials to particularneeds and context.a) Preparation1. Determine goals and rationale, plus assess contextTo begin with, consider why citizen engagement is an essential component of the envisagedpolicy or program development process, and identify the purpose of engaging citizens. The goalsset at the beginning will inform the remainder of the planning decisions. These goals may evolveas the citizen engagement initiative progresses, but without a clear upfront understanding it willbe difficult to keep focused. It is also important to place this initiative within an organizational/departmental context, as well as a broader political and societal context. Conducting a brief“environmental scan” will help. Take the time to sit with team members and decide on thewhat’s, when’s and why’s.Consider the spectrum: listening, sharing power and decision-makingAs discussed in Chapter II, citizen engagement involves a spectrum of approaches and methods.As shown in Table 3, each level of the IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum represents a differentdegree of power sharing with citizens. Involving citizens requires a genuine commitment tolistening to, analyzing with transparency and reporting on what citizens have to say with thepurpose of having their input influence and inform the outcomes. It is not about consulting themafter a decision has been made. Working at the “empower” end of the spectrum requires a realcommitment by the department or organization to do everything possible to implement whatcitizens decide. Determining what the department or organization is capable of, (at theorganizational and broader government or societal level), is essential in order to choose methodsand ensure that citizens are not “turned off” by false promises.If the organization/department is ready to move towards the “empower” side of citizenengagement, the BIAS FREE Framework (available at www.globalforumhealth.org) may behelpful. This framework outlines a process to assist in uncovering the hierarchies at play in agiven setting. By uncovering hierarchies, one can begin to see how power affects processes,structures and decisions. This helps us to move beyond these power structures towards a moreequitable outcome. While the original document is written specifically for the health researchcommunity, the authors state that it can be applied in a wide variety of settings including bothpolicy and programming contexts.CANADIAN POLICY RESEARCH NETWORKS 21
Page 1: Handbook on Citize
Page 4 and 5: Chapter VIII. Case Examples .......
Page 6 and 7: Other sectors (non-profit, private,
Page 8 and 9: Chapter II. What Is Citizen Engagem
Page 10 and 11: and actions. It sees dialogue as mo
Page 12 and 13: Figure 1. VCH Community Engagement
Page 14 and 15: ) The hopes and fears of citizen en
Page 16 and 17: Chapter IV. Institutionalizing Citi
Page 18 and 19: Chapter V. Engaging Members of Spec
Page 20 and 21: Table 5. Barriers to Participation
Page 22 and 23: Chapter VI. Engaging Aboriginal Com
Page 26 and 27: 2. Assessing citizen engagement req
Page 28 and 29: For further reading:Involve, a UK-b
Page 30 and 31: For further reading:Vancouver Coast
Page 32 and 33: Who will be making decisions regard
Page 34 and 35: Appendix 1 provides one page summar
Page 36 and 37: Visit Ascentum’s website “dialo
Page 38 and 39: For a great section on monitoring a
Page 40 and 41: Information to provide participants
Page 42 and 43: Chapter VIII. Case ExamplesThe foll
Page 44 and 45: The success of these dialogues is c
Page 46 and 47: The Tenant Participation System has
Page 48 and 49: Chapter IX. Practical TipsHere are
Page 50 and 51: Endnotes123456789101112131415161718
Page 52 and 53: 3940414243Most information regardin
Page 54 and 55: Appendix A. An Overview of Public P

Handbook on Citizen Engagement: Beyond Consultation - SASANet

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?